The Irregular at Magic High School Volume 25

"Are you paralyzed...?" with a quiet voice Tatsuya asked, quickly
recovering from his surprise. But this tone of voice was chosen
unconsciously.

"To call this being paralyzed is an exaggeration... It just feels a bit
intrusive."

With the serious voice of Tatsuya, Minami did not know what to say as
if she was under psychological pressure. But she clearly didn't mind the
anxiety about the anomalies in her own body.

"What did the doctor say?"

"I was told that neither the brain nor the nervous system is damaged, so
it is a temporary anomaly due to exhaustion."

"If that is it, that’s good."
Although he said that, a disturbed look could still be seen on his face.

"Tatsuya-sama... Can I ask one question?"

Looking back at it, Minami was not be able to understand why she
asked this question.

"Ask away."

However, at that moment she, for some reason, could not keep her
doubts to herself.
"Why is Tatsuya-sama so worried about me?"

First, Tatsuya slightly frowned his eyebrows, not understanding the
meaning behind the question. But his face quickly changed to an
"Understanding" look, and a reproaching bitter smile also came with it.

"Yes, it must seem strange that I, who lacks emotions, could care about
strangers."

"N-no, that's not what I meant!"

Minami hurriedly tried to correct Tatsuya’s mistake.

"It's okay. You got it right."

Even though he said so, Minami realized what kind of impression he
was hiding behind this statement. Minami felt ashamed of her
impoliteness. So much so that apologizing won't help her any more.

"What is wrong with your assumption, is that you thought I was a
stranger to you."

Minami unwittingly burst out a bewildered "Huh...?". Such a reaction
could also be considered to be rude. However, Tatsuya did not take it as
rude.

"Minami, how much do you know about me?" Tatsuya followed with a
question of his own.

But Minami could not answer this question. Tatsuya understood that. So
he gave the correct answer to this question.

"Except for any cases related to Miyuki, I cannot have real emotions.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I cannot have strong
emotions."

This was known to Minami. That's why she didn't say anything. It was
too important a secret that strangers could not know.

"But Miyuki thinks of you as a sister. Minami, you're family for Miyuki.
And I also understand that yhe girl named Sakurai Minami is deeply
associated with Miyuki-san. I'm worried about you, because Miyuki
worries about you from the bottom of her heart. Maybe it'll sound rude
to you, but through Miyuki, I'm really worried about you."

"...I am very grateful, this is an honour for me."

Miyuki thinks of her as a sister. For this Minami was "grateful."

Tatsuya worries about her through his affection for Miyuki. This was an
honor for Minami. Minami understood that, as Tatsuya-sama said, any
emotions accompanying his attachment to Miyuki were real.

"I didn’t know the meaning behind it, but..."

It seems that Tatsuya was not be able to understand what kind of mental
processes could have led to such words by Minami.

"...I beg your pardon."

"Don't pay attention to it."

Minami could not explain her thoughts. She preferred to withdraw her
answer rather than to respond against her will.

"...In the evening, I will come again with Miyuki. So, forget about your
duty and just focus on healing."
Tatsuya did not particularly care about getting an answer.
"Yes. I'll follow your advice."
Minami bowed to Tatsuya with a barely noticeable faint movement of
her head.

◊◊◊

Frankly speaking, Miyuki wanted to miss school today.
She was not sure how she would be able to concentrate on her studies
with what Minami was going through. Instead, she wanted to be near
Minami.
However, she could not help her treatment, even if she was there. On the
contrary, she was not allowed to be there. She was told that by staying
near her for a long period of time, she could unconsciously emit Psion
waves that could awaken Minami’s Magic Calculation Area, which
would prevent her treatment.
She did not intend to emit Psion waves on accident. This could have
happened up to before the day that the Pledge, which halved her power,
was broken. But her present self had the ability to control her magic, so
she would not recklessly exert any pressure on other magicians.
However, she could not disagree that in comparison with Tatsuya’s
ability to completely control his Psions, her control was still weak.
Miyuki realized that her Psion count did not reach the level of Tatsuya's,
but she still had a much higher amount than the average magicians, so
she could not deny the possibility of negatively impacting Minami’s
health.
For this reason, Miyuki abandoned the side of Minami and, as usual,
went to school.
As soon as she entered the classroom, Honoka and Shizuku came to her
with anxious faces.

"Miyuki, are you all right?"

"What are you talking about?"

She didn't pretend to not understand. Because just the sudden question
"Are you okay?", was not clear enough for her to respond with anything
but with the question "What is it about?". If it was a question about
something else, it could be a mistake to reveal information that
should be kept secret.

In this particular case, however, such vigilance was futile.

"The place mentioned in yesterday's statement of the government, this is
the villa where Tatsuya-sama stays at!? Miyuki, you said you were
going there last night!"

It turns out that both Honoka and Shizuku realized that the target of the
Magic was Tatsuya.

"Yes... Tatsuya and I are fine, but Minami-chan had to go to the
hospital." Miyuki said and sat down in her seat.

"Huh!?"

"...Is she hurt?"

Honoka froze in shock, and Shizuku asked, sitting at her seat, with her
back turned around. Shizuku’s seat was right in front of Miyuki’s.

"It's not a wound, but... Something like that."

Miyuki gave a vague answer to the question of Shizuku. The
overheating of the Magic Calculation Area is only found in magicians,
but it still does not apply as a normal illness or injury. Although the
body and mind are different things, there is no difference between them
in the notion of "something similar to a wound", so her words could not
be called a lie.

"I see... How bad is it?"

Shizuku did not interrogate her about Minami’s condition. She just
asked if it was a serious injury or a light one.

"It is not yet known how long she will be in the hospital..."
The face of Miyuki looked worried.
"Understood... I'm worried about her."
Worry was also on the faces of Honoka and Shizuku.
"Can we go and see her?"
"It's not an infectious disease, so I guess it won't be a problem. I'll
have to ask her doctor."
Miyuki did not immediately responded to the request of Shizuku.
Miyuki was glad that they wanted to visit Minami, but, given the
circumstances, she could not give consent herself.
"Okay."
"Please tell me when you get her doctor's permission."
"Of course." With a slight smile Miyuki nodded to Honoka, who was
crouching at the edge of her desk.

◊◊◊

"Who's there?" Minami asked, having heard a knock on the door of the
room dedicated to her. It's about 11 o’clock now, so Tatsuya should be
in Izu and Miyuki at school.
This hospital was under the control of the Yotsuba family, but it was
not exclusively used for the Yotsuba family. As a clinic, it could also
take on regular patients. However, Minami has heard that in the block
where her room is located, people are only allowed to pass after a strict
check.
Minami believed that the likelihood of any suspicious people appearing
to be very low. So she thought that someone associated with the
Yotsuba came to see how she was, but she was wrong.
"It's Kudou Minoru."

The answer that came from behind the door was completely unexpected
to Minami.

"Mi-Minoru!!"

The only thing Minami could do was give this little sensible phrase to
maintain the dialogue, but in her mind she was shouting "What!".

But this exclamation was not because of meaningful questions such as
"How does Minoru know that I was in the hospital" or "How did Minoru
learn about this hospital", but because her consciousness was clouded
from embarrassment.

However, she was only confused for a moment. Her upbringing,
corresponding to a girl of her age, reminded her of her position right
now.

In the morning, before Tatsuya came, she managed to clean herself up.
However, from that moment on she has been lying down in a half-asleep
state, and her hair was certainly a mess. In addition, she could not meet
Minoru in such a grubby posture...

"Please wait a bit!"

Minami’s reaction was fast, but her right hand moved slowly. With this
hand, she pressed the big button on the wired control bed.

The bed bent, lifting the upper half of Minami’s body.

Supported by the auxiliary exoskeleton, Minami slightly pushed her
back away from the bed. This was done so there was a small gap
between the bed and Minami’s back. Using this gap, she disconnected
the right and left half of her exoskeleton.

The auxiliary exoskeleton was worn only on Minami’s upper half of the
body, supporting it.

Using the exoskeleton she could help the movements of her hands.
Minami took a mirror and comb and hurriedly removed the mess that
was her hair, while looking in the mirror.

In fact, she also wanted to do her make-up, but in the hospital room,
there was a limit to what she could do to change her look.

"...Sorry for making you wait. Please come in."

The AI in the room analyzed Minami’s voice and opened the door.
"Sorry for the intrusion..."

Answering with an indecisive voice, Minoru entered the chamber.
At that moment the room was filled with a sacred light.

It was as if the room was filled with a pure white light that came down
from the skies.
...Of course, this spectacle only unfolded in the imagination of
Minami.

"Sakurai-san, um... How are you feeling?" Minoru asked with a shy
smile, not noticing the strange look directed at him by Minami. Or
maybe, at the moment, he didn’t care about such trifling matters.

With the help of Minoru, the usual conversation began, and Minami
was able to escape from the world of fantasies back to reality.

When her mind returned to the realization of what was happening, the
previously foggy questions finally began to surface.

(...How does Minoru know I was in the hospital?)

(...How did Minoru determine that I was being treated here?)

But she did not ask Minoru about this.

"Yes. I don't feel any discomfort, like pain or suffering. The doctor
said that even though the body’s strength has not returned, I will soon
get better."

Minami responded humbly to his question.

"That's good."
Minoru smiled widely. Minami’s pale cheeks reddened.

If the smile of Minoru had lasted a little longer, Minami would've lost
consciousness for a reason different than fatigue.

Minoru looked at Minami with serious eyes.

Minami did not even realize that her consciousness was gradually
fading away. Even such trivial questions as "Why are you not at
school" flew out of her head the moment when she heard his voice
outside the door.

"...Sakurai-san. Besides that, is there anything wrong with you?"

"Other than what?"
He had asked her just like a doctor. Minami felt this suspicion from his
words.
"For example, is your sight blurry or can you hear everything well?"

"..."

She really only had the symptom of a weakened touch. But is it possible
to talk about this to Minoru? That's not a simple concern, is it? ...For
this reason, Minami was hesitant to respond.

"There is no need to answer someone like me. Of course if you think
that. But this is an important matter. Sakurai-san, I want you to answer
me honestly!"

(

However, she was not able to hesitate with the serious gaze of Minoru
upon her.

"...My sense of touch is a bit..."

"Your touch has weakened!?"

The face of Minoru approached the face of Minami. Minami, who was
unable to withstand it, looked away. At that moment, she had the strong
feeling that "I can't keep looking at his face", and not that "I can't stand
the shame". Needless to say, the fact that she could turn her face away
from hostility, did not mean she could also do this with her speech.

"Yes, it has... Now, Minoru. As I said earlier, please call me Minami."

Due to the unexpected request, Minoru’s attention slightly deviated
from Minami’s condition. Because of this, Minoru noticed the dubious
position that he now occupied, and quickly withdrew himself.
Realizing that this is what Minami wanted, he moved to an appropriate
distance.

"Uh, but..."

Minoru was an incomparably handsome young guy, but his experience
in dealing with the opposite sex was zero. His mysterious beauty forced
girls to retreat, and not approach him.

Although the cause for this was not because he is an "unpopular man",
but for Minoru, being one of the "popular guys", it was still a bit
difficult to "call a pretty girl by her name". When it was such a
beautiful girl as Miyuki, this feeling of resistance was denied by
himself, but for a high school student... No, for Minoru, Minami was a
"pretty cute girl", and he felt a bit embarrassed.

"Otherwise I will have no choice but to call you 'Kudou-sama'..."

Minami and Minoru exchanged looks, which made her face become
even redder.

Given the status of Minami and Minoru, she, from the very beginning,
had to say Kudou.

But Minami began to call Minoru "Minoru-sama", when he had agreed
to call Tatsuya and Miyuki by their name, because it was difficult to
distinguish between them, since both of them are called "Shiba-san".
Therefore "Kudou-sama" was the right option to use when Tatsuya and
Miyuki weren’t present.

Having seen the expression on Minami’s face, Minoru forgot about his
embarrassment. And after hearing her words, he answered reflexively.
It seemed that Minoru also wanted her to continue to calling him by his
name.

"Yes, Minoru."

"..."

"..."

But their feeling of embarrassment had not disappeared. And this time it
was not just Minoru. The feelings of shame of one of them enhanced
that feeling of the other, and the chamber was filled with an atmosphere
of real youth.

"...Uh... Did the doctor say anything about your sense of touch?"

“Oh, yes, he did... I was told that since neither the brain nor the nervous
system is damaged, it is a temporary anomaly..."

Minoru’s face became gloomy when he heard the answer of Minami.
When Minami saw a change in Minoru’s face, her anxiety began to
grow. Although she behaved as if nothing had happened, she was
actually frightened by the anomalies in her body.

The Yotsuba family told her about the instability of modified
magicians. She knew that someday this fate would overtake her.

...It's possible that "someday" has already come.

It was a lie if you said that Minami was not thinking about this.

If it was just the natural deterioration of the body, it wouldn't really
bother her. However, it was obvious that this is not the usual anomaly
of the five senses. Minami knew this was caused by overloading the
Magic Calculation Area. And she knew that the sudden death of
modified people was also related to the excessive use of magic.

She gave all her strength to protect Miyuki. And she didn't regret it.
At that moment, she was not pretending, but she was really ready to
give up her life, and even now she does not regret it.

But she was too afraid to think about death. So she tried not to think
about it. She lied to herself and pretended to be cold-blooded about it.

However, now that Minami saw the serious face of Minoru, that
alarm started to ring again.

"Minami-san, uh, can I touch your hand...?"

"...Yes please?"

If this was some other time, Minami would not have responded so
quietly. The anxiety spread in her mind and weakened her
embarrassment.

Using the help of the exoskeleton, Minami stretched her right hand to
Minoru. The other side looked embarrassed. Despite the fact that it
was his request, his white cheeks blushed slightly. Minoru carefully
put his right palm under the stretched right palm of Minami. And he
put his left hand on the back of her hand.

As expected, Minami was immediately flushed because of these
actions.

Minoru slowly moved his left hand. His cheeks were still red, but his
eyes were serious.

These intense eyes of Minoru were chained to Minami.

Minoru frowned his eyebrows several times, as if feeling that
something that both the doctor and Minami did not know.

After about a minute, Minoru let go of Minami’s hand, took a deep
breath and exhaled. Perhaps he was so concentrated that he forgot to
breathe.

Minami quietly gasped at the same time, but this reaction was a show
of tension, not relief. Minoru did not notice this action of Minami.

"...Minami-san. This may sound cruel, but Minami-san's wound
hasn't healed yet. The Magic Calculation Area is still damaged. Even
if the physical condition is restored, it is still unknown if you can lose
consciousness again."

"... So that's how it is."
"I know it's hard to believe."
But Minami believed in the words of Minoru. On the contrary, she
believed in herself. Minami thought this, when she realized that she
knew the truth all along.
"However, I would like you to believe in me."
Minami mentally, and not out loud, made a surprised "Uh?" sound.
What does he want her to believe...? These words from Minoru were
unexpected to Minami.
But her doubts were immediately answered.
"I will definitely find a way to treat you. That's why I don't want you to
give up."
The question that now surfaced in Minami’s head was "why?". This
morning, Minami asked the same question to Tatsuya. But she could
not decide whether or not she wanted to ask Minoru this question as
well.
"...Okay. I will rely on you, Minoru."
The answer she gave was unexpected, both for Minoru and for her.

◊◊◊

When Tatsuya, who was preparing to move away from the villa in Izu,
was interrupted during lunch, it was already 1 PM. He did not have to
do things like packing and loading, but he could not entrust the transfer
of important research data to other people.
The kitchen and all the kitchen utensils were originally part of the villa,
so Pixie, as usual, prepared lunch. Not only the kitchen utensils, but
most of the equipment and clothing in this villa was organized by the
main house of the Yotsuba, so there wasn’t much luggage involved in
the transfer to the multi-storied house in Chofu. Lunch was a bit late
because he first decided to completely finish all his business.

At the table in the dining room, it was just Tatsuya. Other workers
went to the truck to eat there with the lunches they brought with
them in boxes. Tatsuya could understand their feelings, because
they tried to avoid sitting with an "important person", so he did not
force them to join his table.

"Tatsuya, I'm sorry to interrupt your meal."

When Tatsuya had already finished doing all the dishes and rested
with an afternoon coffee, Hanabishi Hyougo entered. Today he was
not in his usual three-piece suit, but in his working trousers and
jacket, similar to the uniform of a courier to a company. Because of
his young age, this appearance suited him well. But in the
current situation, the phrase "suited well" meant "not feeling
uncomfortable", and not "fashionable looks".

Therefore, when he, as usual, politely bowed, his appearance did
not arouse a sense of irrelevance.

"No, I've already finished eating. What’s wrong?"

"I received a report from a person responsible for the Chofu Aoba
Medical Clinic."

[Here, Aoba is not written like the name of Toudou Aoba, but knowing the author,
this is clearly not a coincidence.]

The Chofu Aoba Medical Centre, the name of the hospital, is where
Minami resided. Tatsuya felt anxious for a moment that the
condition of Minami had worsened, but he quickly gave up on this
thought. If that were so, the tone of Hyougo's voice would be more
intense. In this respect, Hyougo definitely was a man who could be
anxious.

"I'm listening."

"At about 11 o'clock, someone visited Sakurai in her room."

For Hyougo, Minami was one of the maids serving the Yotsuba
family. As a butler, he had a higher status. So it was normal for
him to call her that.

"Have you visited her? But I thought the amount of people allowed
to visit were limited?" Tatsuya asked these questions.

"The hospital staff understands that. However, they could not just
mindlessly throw this person out. They had filed a request to the main
house, and from there on, he was given permission."

"Who was it?"

According to the words that he could not be thrown out, it was clear that
it was not an ordinary visitor. Besides, he says that the man was given
permission from the main house. Tatsuya had no idea who this visitor
could be.

"The third son of the Kudou family, Kudou Minoru-sama."

Minoru was the youngest child of his five brothers and sisters. By
seniority, he was the fifth to be born: First his sister, second his brother,
afterwards his sister, then his other brother, and finally, he himself.

"Minoru...?”

The first thing that surfaced in Tatsuya’s head was the natural question,
why did Minoru come on a weekday.

He didn't need to think very hard to understand how Minoru knew that
Minami was in the hospital.

Fujibayashi told him... Tatsuya quickly came to this conclusion. In fact,
this information had to remain within the army, but Fujibayashi to some
extent was sympathetic towards Minoru. If Minoru had begged,
something could have definitely been leaked. Moreover, for the Self-
Defense Forces, this information does not need to be kept strictly
confidential.

But having learned even this, Tatsuya could not understand the reason
why he came to visit, skipping school today, as if in a hurry. Minoru
spent less than three days with Minami in total. In fact, it looked like
they had good compatibility, but he didn't notice that they really became
friends.

In Kyoto, Minami cared for Minoru when he was sick, so the likelihood
that he might have certain feelings, is not equal to zero. But even with
that in mind, his vigor in this matter is too high.

Tatsuya did not know Minoru’s character well enough to say that it is
not like the usual Minoru.

However, Tatsuya felt that the passionate desire to leave his bed in
Tokyo and skip school, is not very consistent with the image he has of
Minoru.

"By the way, is Minoru still at the hospital?"

If he is still in the Chofu Aoba Medical Centre, Tatsuya wanted to ask
him directly what his intentions were.

"No, he's already gone. Looks like he spent about 20 minutes in the
hospital room."

However, in fact, this did not go as Tatsuya thought.

Tatsuya thought that Minoru had spent too little time there. Still,
Tatsuya could not decide if 20 minutes was too much or too little
compared to the average time for visiting a patient. However, if you
consider this passionate desire to visit a patient in the hospital, even
skipping school, it could be concluded that he simply overdid himself.

It wasn't just a visit, right? Did he have any other purpose?

There was too little data to infer the true intentions of Minoru.

"I'm fine with Minoru. Anything else?"

"Nothing else."

With Tatsuya’s gesture, he deferentially dismissed the bowing Hyougo.

When they were alone, Tatsuya turned to Pixie, sitting in a corner of the
dining room motionless, like a decoration.

"Pixie, get my information terminal."

"Yes."

Not answering telepathically, but through the built-in mechanical
speaker, Pixie quickly brought his terminal.

Last autumn, Tatsuya exchanged contact information with Minoru.
After the case having to do with Zhou Gongjin, they never contacted
each other, but if Minoru did not change his ID, he could be contacted.

However, Tatsuya’s expectations were not justified. Since from the
speaker came the sound of someone being called, means that the ID was
not invalid.

The link identifier (ID) attached to a particular information terminal
cannot be re-used, so if you change the ID, the old ID becomes
invalid. In other words, instead of the sound of a call, an invalid ID
message will be issued.

In case the terminal is turned off, the corresponding message will be
voiced. In other words, either Minoru cannot take the phone now, or
pretends that he is not around.

"...But pretending to not be there is not like him."

In the absence of data, there was only speculation. Tatsuya decided to
temporarily postpone his suspicions for Minoru’s actions.

◊◊◊

When Tatsuya called Minoru, he was already driving to Nara with a
long-distance train, a so-called "trailer".

But this wasn't the reason why he didn't answer the phone.
A trailer is a subspecies of a road train carrying individual cabins.
Passengers can enter the cabins of the trailers and are not forced to sit
with bent legs and hands in a cramped space.

Minoru did this.

A private cabin is like a closed room. If you call while you're in there,
you're not going to annoy anyone.

Then why didn't Minoru answer his phone? Because Minoru just didn't
notice the sound of the ringtone.

At this point, Minoru was having a mental conversation in his head.

It was not a technique of thinking in the form of having a conversation
with himself. He was not able to hear any sound, when concentrating on
the conversation he was having with his "knowledge", which once was
the former ghost of Zhou Gongjin.

Minoru asked about a treatment method for Minami. The answer his
"knowledge" gave, was cruel.

("It will be difficult to restore her Magic Calculation Area.")

(That is, it cannot be cured? Why? After all, the Head of the Ichijou
family successfully recovered, didn’t he?)

Despite the fact that the cause of Ichijou Gouki’s disease was supposed
to be hidden, among the Ten Master Clans, they all understood that it
was the overheating of the Magic Calculation Area.

There was an announcement from the Ichijou family that the recovery
was successful, and the Kudou family concluded that this information
was true.

("The damage received by Ichijou Gouki did not seem to be that
serious.")

(You mean that the damage inflicted to Minami-san is more serious!?)

("I believe that she will be physically restored. The doctor didn't lie
about that.")

(Physically?)

("If she rests for some time, the weakening of her physical body and the
partial failure of her sense of touch should return to its original state in a
relatively short time.")

Minoru became a little calmer when he heard this. However, his anxiety
quickly returned.

(However, the cause of the injury to the physical body is the damage
done in the Magic Calculation Area? If you don't deal with this cause,
then it can happen again?)

("The probability that it will repeat naturally is rather small. Unlike
'me', she does not have to constantly support the excessive activity of
Psions at a level that a physical body cannot withstand.")

The harsh answer given by his "knowledge" only started to get on
Minoru’s nerves. Usually a high activity of Psions is an indicator of an
outstanding magician. But in the case of Minoru, these were shackles,
binding him to his bed.

Minoru kept his wrath of despair in his mind. Now the priority should
be a way to cure Minami.

It was not the time to discuss his own disadvantages, which nothing can
be done about.

(Does that mean that the illness of the physical body will continue to
happen if Psion activity increases?)

When you use magic, Psion activity occurs inside a magician. The
stronger the magic, the more intense this activity. If the increased Psion
activity will harm the physical body, it means that Minami could faint
from the use of High level magic. Advanced magic would become
practically useless to her now.

("That’s true. Compared to 'me', its conditions are clearly visible, so it
will not interfere with her daily life. However, as well as 'me', her
activity as a magician will be limited.")

Minoru unwittingly squeezed his teeth. He could not lead magicians in
their current struggles. It was the one thing that constantly tormented
Minoru. So this was absolutely unbearable.

(But what about Minami? Will she have to accept the misery of not
being able to use magic? ...Will she be able to live normally without
using magic?)

("Unfortunately, I cannot give a definite answer. She inherited the body
of a modified person. Perhaps even both her parents came from modified
descent. Even if she does not try to use magic herself, there may be a
situation that her Magic Calculation Area will go out of control and
exceed the permissible limits of her body.")

(Just like 'mine'?)

("If this is the case, her situation is more serious than 'mine'. 'My' spirit
is not strong enough, but it has a high regenerative ability. Therefore,
even with frequent illnesses, it ends up not being fatal. However, in her
case, the damage to her spirit can lead to the total exhaustion of her
life.")

(...But she was saved this time.)

("Someone had restored her spirit on the spot.")

Minoru’s intuition told him that it was Tatsuya.

Minoru did not know about all the magical abilities that Tatsuya
possessed.

But he watched the Monolith Code Rookie Division on TV 2 years ago.

In that match, Tatsuya couldn’t dismiss Ichijou Masaki’s attack, strong
enough to inflict deadly trauma, but he miraculously recovered and
caused an unexpected turn during the battle.
Based on that situation, Tatsuya must have an advanced self-healing
ability. He can probably use it on other people.
(Then what will happen if she 'faints' when that 'someone' is not there to
help her...?)
("She won't be saved. This is the fate that people with modified bodies
follow. I assume that in the case of 'Minami-san' this could also happen
the next time.")
(So the method to cure her is the same as mine...?)
("Merging with a parasite. This seems to be the most effective.")
Minoru completed the dialogue with his "knowledge".
To save Minami, he must infect her with a "parasite". Minoru thought
that this was unthinkable. But he was in the same situation. Thinking
about it, Minoru began to think that there was something attractive
about that.

◊◊◊

As Tatsuya promised, in the evening he and Miyuki came to visit
Minami. During their conversation, Minami told them about Minoru’s
visit.
"So Minoru said that he'd find a way to treat you?"
"Yes, Tatsuya-sama."
As he thought, it was not just a simple visit. Hearing the response of
Minami, Tatsuya nodded slightly.
Although Tatsuya doubted the intentions of Minoru, hearing about them
holding hands and him stroking the back of her hand, in the end he
became convinced that the real intention of Minoru was to cure Minami.

"Onii-sama, does Minoru-kun have such knowledge?"

Miyuki, who listened to Minami’s story with him, asked an
interesting question. The treatment of the Magic Calculation Area is
a complex issue that the Yotsuba family has been exploring for many
years and has not yet achieved its goal.

"I can't say that he doesn’t have it. As was seen at last year’s Thesis
Competition, Minoru’s understanding of "Reason" far surpasses the
level of a student. In addition, the magic of the former ninth
laboratory, which has elements of Ancient Magic, also uses spells
related to the system of Mental Interference Magic. It is probable that
Minoru could find the key to the treatment of the Magic Calculation
Area in the studies of the former Ninth laboratory.

"However, Yotsuba researchers have not ceased to study the Magic
Calculation Area since the former fourth laboratory. But despite this,
the method of treatment has not yet been found. In addition, Minoru-
kun has an imbalance between his Magic Calculation Area and his
physical body. If he had such knowledge, wouldn't he start with
treating himself?"

"He could learn more about it because he has a similar problem."

Tatsuya shook his head and rejected Miyuki’s objection.

"There is no point in discussing the abilities of Minoru here and now.
He said he'd find a way to treat Minami. Let us perceive the good
intentions of Minoru precisely as good intentions."

"...Right. Sorry for such useless doubts."
Tatsuya nodded to Miyuki and looked at Minami again.

"Local doctors are also making a lot of efforts to treat Minami. The
main house seems to be sending their research here, and I'm not
going to sit around either. Be calm and wait for good news." Tatsuya
said to calm Minami down.

"Well. Uhm, Tatsuya..."

However, Minami responded with an alarming voice as if it "caused
the opposite effect".

"What is it?"
He did not, of course, show any signs of anxiety on his part. With a
calm face and a calm voice, he asked Minami to continue.
"Could you please ask Minoru yourself so that he doesn't try to do the
impossible?"
Really? Tatsuya mentally muttered. It seems that the anxiety that
Minami showed was not about the success of her treatment, but about
the same Minoru that they were discussing.
"Did you feel that there was something wrong with Minoru?"
"Yes... He seemed very tense. He looked... As if he was not just
worried about me, but as if he was hiding some other, more serious
suffering..."
"Did Minoru give off such bad feelings?"
"No. He didn't look overworked or weakened."
"...I'm worried, Onii-sama."
Miyuki looked disturbed at Tatsuya, as if she had been infected by
Minami’s anxiety
"Minoru is a smart guy. I think he won't do anything reckless..."
Although Tatsuya said so, he himself was not entirely sure of this.
He did not know Minoru’s character. He could have said that if it was
the Minoru he had met last Fall, he wouldn't do anything stupid.
However, the behavior of the current Minoru did not correspond to the
image he had of Minoru from that time. Therefore Tatsuya felt such
uncertainty.

Chapter 4

First High and its nearest station were connected by a straight road.
Although it does branch out, it can still be said that, the main road is the
only one.
Most of the students go to and from school on this road. The only
exceptions are students who live within walking distance of the school.

Tuesday, June 11th, morning. On the mentioned pedestrian route the
noise from conversations of pupils had risen. Because the well-known
President of the School Council, Shiba Miyuki, was walking quite
closely with one male pupil.

And this person was as famous as the President of the School Council.
And in terms of fame in society, he was far more famous.

The name of this person is Shiba Tatsuya.

He has returned after a long absence.

"Tatsuya-san!"

From the gate to the courtyard of First High’s main building was a
straight road. Right after Tatsuya stepped on this road, he was called out
by a voice that was in front of him.

There was a figure in the opposite direction among the students going to
school, and she was not alone.

"Tatsuya-san, are you coming back to school?"

The people who knew the circumstances had faces as if they were
saying, "There is nothing to be done about it..." and the ignorant people
looked at them with curiosity. Honoka, not paying attention to any of
them, ran to Tatsuya.

"Yes. From now on, please take care of me again."

With a crooked smile on his face Tatsuya answered Honoka, trying not
to cause concern.

Tatsuya quietly approached Honoka and looked at her back.

Shizuku, standing behind Honoka, said hello with a confused face.

And behind her back, Erika, Leo, Mikihiko and Mizuki stood with
joyful faces. Erika, noticing the glance of Tatsuya, slightly waved her
hand.

Tatsuya continued to go towards the school building with Miyuki to his
left, and Honoka attached to his right.

The entrance for the Magic Engineering course was in the second
hallway from the main walkway.

This was due to the fact that the classrooms for classes A to D and E to
H had separate entrances, and the structure of the school building could
not be changed any more.

Separating from Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku and Mikihiko, Tatsuya went
to his classroom together with Erika, Leo and Mizuki.

It's been a long time since he was in classroom 3E. Although Erika and
Leo were in class F, they also went to class E.

"We finally left the main group."

Going to his place at the window, Tatsuya gave his impressions, which
were not sarcastic, and quite heartless feelings. Erika and the others did
not say anything, but only had stretched smiles.

Mizuki sat down at her seat, located on the side of Tatsuya, and turned
to face him.

"Given your Stellar Furnace project, is it okay for you to be here now?"

"Well, of course I'm going to be busy. Therefore, it will be difficult to
come to school every day."

Mizuki's face was a little sad when she heard Tatsuya's answer.
However, she quickly hid it behind a smile.

"Got it. But I'm glad you'll at least come sometimes."

After the words of Mizuki, Erika through the window in the corridor
nodded.

"Even if you are only an 'escort' for Miyuki, and you leave immediately
after you came, it will still be somewhat normal. In fact, if Tatsuya-kun
isn’t here at all, then there is some sense of dissatisfaction."

"'Escort' for Miyuki?"

Tatsuya could not resist to curve his lips into a smile, hearing the words
of Erika, completely ignoring the meaning of school attendance.

But what Erika said was unexpectedly true.

"By the way Tatsuya, how bad is it for Sakurai?" Leo worried about
Minami because she was a kohai from his club.

"The doctor says that her complications should not remain. But it's
going to take a little time."

"Okay..."

Leo was worried about Minami’s condition, and Tatsuya was also
concerned about her.

Of course, the very desire for a full recovery was not a lie. But at the
same time, Tatsuya was thinking about the question of what to do with
the protection of Miyuki.

Yesterday she went to and from school alone. It is quite rare to meet a
person who can harm Miyuki, whether it be a magician or a non-
magician. Besides, Tatsuya can protect Miyuki even when he's not
around.

However, there are also problems that can be avoided only by having an
assistant close by. Even for the Yotsuba family it will be difficult to
send people to the school grounds. No, it may be possible to send a
person to the school staff, but it is impossible to quickly prepare a pupil
who will always be there. To only be an escort during the trips to and
from school, was what Tatsuya was thinking before Erika mentioned it.

◊◊◊

Tatsuya had returned to First High, not because the excitement of
Project Dione had calmed down. On the contrary, because of Tatsuya’s
countermeasures that he had started last weak, the hype flared up again.

The fact that the journalists were no longer crowded around First High
was a consequence of the shooting incident.

Since Taurus Silver's identity has already been disclosed, they did not
have to risk their lives to gather information.

Now it seemed that the excitement, which began in the vicinity of
Tatsuya, has spread to a global scale. Among the four largest states, the
New Soviet Union took the side of Project Dione, and the Indo-Persian
Union, though an official statement from the Government had not yet
been made, but it clearly demonstrated the position of supporting
Tatsuya’s Project ESCAPES.

The Great Asian Alliance has not yet disclosed its position.

Among other countries: in Europe, they mainly support Project Dione;
Countries from West Asia to South-East Asia support Project
ESCAPES; Brazil and Australia, like the Great Asian Alliance, have not
disclosed their attitude.

The fact that both "camps" do not publicly show a hostile attitude makes
the situation quite confusing. The thing is that both projects, Dione and
ESCAPES, coincide in terms of peaceful use of magic. And both
projects do not bear the principled position that the enemy should be
expelled from Earth. Judging by the published materials, the
implementation of Project Dione will not make it impossible to move
along with Project ESCAPES, and vice versa. There is just one problem:
the same magician will not be able to participate in two projects at the
same time.

With the recognition that these two projects can coexist, the unfolded
war of propaganda between Tatsuya and Clark moved forward with it
leaning to the side of Tatsuya. It was not Tatsuya’s superiority of
intellect over Clark, but it was related to the advantage of "Acting
Second*". This war was not a competition with a judge. Whether delays
or fraud are involved, in the end, victory is the most important thing.

[Explanation from the explanatory dictionary for the word used: "Wait and see the
enemy's move, before making your move (for example, in Rock-Paper-Scissors, seeing
what the opponent will show before you show your answer)"]

With his debate, Edward Clark hoped to bypass this using political
influence.

◊◊◊

At the time when First High had already finished its first lesson, the
commander of the 101 Brigade of the Self-Defense Forces, Lieutenant
General Saeki Hiromi visited the office building of the Ministry of
Defence. This was also the joint headquarters of the Japanese Navy, but
the purpose of today's visit was the Public sector.

Saeki was back at the base before noon. Going into her office, she called
Kazama.

"...Tatsuya, that is, Shiba Tatsuya-san..."

"No need to correct yourself, Lieutenant Colonel."

Interrupting someone else's speech was not like the normal Saeki. She
didn't even try to hide her bad mood.

Kazama was not puzzled, but rather amused, and he was forced to
make great efforts to restrain himself from smiling.

"...I beg your pardon. So you were told to persuade Tatsuya to take
part in Project Dione?"

"The Head of the Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
no authority to give me orders."

In the conference hall of the Ministry of Defence, Saeki met with the
Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of North America. As
Saeki said, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no authority to give
orders to the Self-Defense forces. Everything that was said in the
conference room was in the form of a request. But the words spoken
in the presence of the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, in fact,
were coercion, or, in other words, an order.

The military do not like to violate their command system. And officers
have an even stronger feeling towards this sentiment, and Saeki was
no exception. Her bad mood was largely explained by this.

"Was this request voiced to Your Excellency, because Tatsuya is
Special Officer Ooguro Ryuuya?"

"It looks like it."

Kazama sighed, not hiding this from Saeki, who had made a
dissatisfied face.

"It seems that the bureaucrats do not seem to know, why Tatsuya was
assigned the title of 'Special Officer'."

"The status of Special Officer Ooguro is in a certain sense outlawed.
It's no surprise that office clerks don't know about him."

As Saeki said, in the current Self-Defense Forces there was no such
title as "Special Officer". To begin with, if you look from a historical
point of view, then calling Tatsuya a "Special Officer" would be
wrong.

It would be more appropriate for him to be called a "militia who has
been treated as an officer assigned to the regular army under normal
conditions, not temporarily." Since there was no corresponding term for
this concept, he was simply called a "Special Officer" for convenience.

Therefore, those who did not know the real situation, based on the
original meaning of the concept of an "officer with special duties",
Tatsuya would be perceived as an ordinary soldier.

"I think that they should know because they are office workers under
jurisdiction of the official legal system."

Legal problems were solved by the Self-Defense Forces themselves, but
this problem was "illegal". The existing system requires the consent of
the bureaucrats, so it would be impossible to justify the negligence of
the Ministry of Defense officials by saying that they did not know.

"You're right about that, Lieutenant Colonel, but now we have other
problems."

"I beg your pardon. The problem is whether we can persuade Tatsuya
and whether or not we should be persuaded. Isn't it?"

To deviate from the topic of apologizing, Kazama listed two problems.

"Right."

Saeki nodded to him.

"First of all, does the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs understand that Tatsuya is the operator of the 'Material Burst'?"

"Based on the feelings of today's conversation, they did not seem to
know."

"Understood. If that is the case, I can understand why they gave such an
absurd order."

Tatsuya was the greatest magical military force Japan possessed. No, not
only in magic, he is the greatest of all possible forces. The Joker, alone
changing the entire World balance, the fifth ace, creating the strongest
hand*.

[Poker terminology. "Hand" is a combination of 5 cards received in hands.]

Although the use of such a problem person as a "Joker" may be
prohibited by rules, but in this world its use is not prohibited. And
nobody in his right mind wants to part with him. If they knew that
Tatsuya is the strongest magician of the strategic class, they would not
even think about asking him to join Project Dione.

"Instead, how about registering Tatsuya as the 14th 'Apostle'?"
Saeki’s face showed her surprise. But the silent pause didn’t last long.

"...That's not a bad idea."

"Your Excellency?"

This time Kazama was the one to be surprised. Because he was just
joking.

"If things worsen even more, we may have to consider this option. If it
becomes obvious that he is a Strategic Class Magician, officials will stop
saying that he should be transferred to USNA."

"That is so, but..."

"Well, it depends on how the situation will develop. We will deal with
the problems as they appear."

Having said that, Saeki made a tired face.

"And if you were to ask him now, Lieutenant Colonel Kazama, do you
think you could persuade Shiba-kun?"

"That's impossible."

He would not be able to convince Tatsuya to go to America, even if he
were to ask. Therefore Kazama immediately replied that any attempts of
persuasion are useless.

"Besides, I can't say that Tatsuya has a good relationship with us right
now. And my own mistake, when we were caught while getting video
footage the other day, only added more suspicion."

"It was a mistake by my calculations too. In any case, if we try to
convince him, then we cannot succeed, and would on the contrary only
worsen our relationship with him."

"That's what I think."

Saeki had no objection to the judgement of Kazama.

"Then, do you think, will we be able to gain the favour of Shiba-kun, by
rejecting the demand of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

"Hmm... Who knows..."
On the other hand, Kazama did not agree with her idea.

"Whatever we do, Tatsuya won't take part in Project Dione. I don't think
he's going to be particularly grateful. Wouldn't it be a better choice to do
nothing at all?"

"That is true..."

Saeki looked down at her hands and pondered. Kazama stood
motionlessly in front of her table and waited for her to say something.

"I'll follow your advice."

"You mean you're not going to do anything?"

"Yes. The demand of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not voiced in
the proper manner, but done rather unofficially. There will be no
problems if I were to neglect it."

Kazama decided that Saeki said so, but she probably planned to ignore
the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the very beginning.
It was normal to ask his opinion whether it was possible to benefit from
this case, about deserving the gratitude of Tatsuya. At least that's what
Kazama understood.

"Lieutenant Colonel, thank you for your help, you are dismissed."

"Understood. Beg your pardon."

Kazama went out of the commander's office.

At first Kazama thought that it was necessary to tell Tatsuya, but
quickly gave up on this idea.

The intentions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Self-Defense
Forces for Tatsuya are irrelevant. This cannot be used as material to
restore their relationship.

Instead it was necessary to ask Tatsuya’s opinion about his registration
as the fourteenth "Apostle", as the conversation about it could become a
reality at any moment.

Tatsuya has already received undesirable fame from being Taurus
Silver. At this rate keeping himself a secret will be impossible. But for
Kazama, it was obvious that if you ask Tatsuya if he wants to become
an officially State recognized Strategic Class Magicians, the answer
will be definitely be "no". Such an idea can worsen his mood if a
mistake were to be made.

...Kazama seriously worried that his relationship with Tatsuya became
so alienated that he had to think of such things.

◊◊◊

And not only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was swept between
Tatsuya and Edward Clark.

The Ministry of Industry suffered from pressure from the office of the
leader of the ruling party, a part-minister. Once, the Ministry of Industry
was called the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, but
although the name had changed, foreign trade was still under their
jurisdiction. The USNA was one of their most important trading partners
in this era, so the bureaucrats from the Ministry of Industry wanted to
make the differences in trade as little as possible. For them, the quarrel
of a single civilian with the USNA was not a joke, and they seriously
wanted Tatsuya to go to America as soon as possible.

However, this morning a request was made by the Office of the Minister
who inquired about the legislative measures necessary to implement the
"Magic Stellar Furnace Energy Plant Project". In other words, it meant
that they would have to consider another way so that he could not
participate in the USNA’s Project Dione.

Since neither Project Dione nor the project of the plant with a Stellar
Furnace reactor were governmental municipal enterprises, Japan itself
did not have to care about whether they should join them or not. Even in
the New Soviet Union, which showed itself to be the most collaborative,
the statement of cooperation wasn’t made by the government, but by the
academy. At this stage, if the government does nothing, the USNA will
not be able to accuse them of anything.

On the other hand, the project of the plant is an internal affair of Japan,
so it can be said that the role of the Ministry of Industry is to consider its
legal aspects. But the request from the Office of the Minister was
exerting pressure, because it demanded them to "support the project", not
paying any attention to the circumstances.

Wondering about why this happened, the Ministry of Industry conducted
an investigation. The Office of the Ministers sent inquiries to many
groups of companies, which are a great source of funds for the ruling
party.

There were a lot of businessmen who opposed the project, which is likely
to worsen their relations with the USNA. Therefore, the real concern of
the Ministry of Industry was that the project announced by a simple
schoolboy could so quickly divide the business world into two camps.

"Since when has he had such connections?"

"How has he persuaded these old men that lead such companies?" The
employees of the Ministry were puzzled about such questions.

◊◊◊

Tatsuya did not leave the classroom until the morning half of the lessons
were over. In the third year of training, the number of specialized
subjects related to magic increased. But it does not mean that the number
of subjects of the general course disappeared. Tatsuya concentrated on
general course lectures that he had missed during his absence, studying
them at triple speed.

Unfortunately, the accumulated quantity could not be completed in half a
day, but he did not think he could catch up by even working for a whole
day. When the lunch break came, he got up to go for a bite.

"Tatsuya-san, are you going to eat at—"

"Shiba-kun."

The voice of Mizuki who was sitting him was blocked by a boyish voice.

It was the voice of Tomitsuka.

"“Mizuki, go to the cafeteria first, I'll catch up." Tatsuya answered to
Mizuki, then turning to Tomitsuka.

"Tomitsuka, do you need something?"

"...I'd like to talk to you about something." Tomitsuka replied with a
little hesitation, making a persistent face.

"Is this conversation going to take a long time?"

In contrast to Tomitsuka, Tatsuya did not seem to be very enthusiastic
about this.

"Possibly."

"Can we do this after school?"

But he still showed that he was ready to listen.

"I would like to do it immediately."

"But this is going to be a long conversation?"

"That is so... But..."
Tomitsuka couldn't decide what he wanted to say.

"Why are you acting so high and mighty? Can't you just talk to him?"
At that moment, a hysterical voice intervened in the conversation.

"Hirakawa-san...?"

Hirakawa Chiaki gave Tatsuya a burning look. But she did not
embarrass Tatsuya, but Tomitsuka.

"To say such a thing…! When did Tatsuya-san say he wouldn't listen!?"

Mizuki who remained there although she was told to go to the dining
room, retorted the words of Chiaki.

It could have escalated into a quarrel between schoolgirls in an empty
classroom, so Tatsuya stopped it in advance with the phrase "Mizuki,
stop".

"Mizuki. I'm sorry, but I'm wasting my time talking to Tomitsuka this
lunch break. Please tell the others."

"... I got it."

Mizuki, trying to hide her dissatisfied face, bowed to Tatsuya and
withdrew from the class.

"Tomitsuka, where are we going to talk?"

"Uh, let's go to the roof."

Tatsuya slightly raised his eyebrows, because other students could still
hear them on the roof.

"Alright."

But if Tomitsuka was fine with it, then Tatsuya was not going to
complain.

"Hirakawa-san, thank you."

Tomitsuka quietly said this to Chiaki, who sat down, while clenching
her fist. After that, he quickly chased after Tatsuya.

Contrary to Tatsuya’s expectations, the roof was deserted. In Tokyo, the
rainy season began last week, and today the sky was also covered by
clouds, so looking at it, it could rain at any moment. Therefore, the
absence of students wishing to dine on the roof was quite natural.

There were benches on the roof, but neither Tatsuya nor Tomitsuka sat
down. They stood up straight, facing each other.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Tatsuya began the
conversation.

"...The other day, my mother had a seizure."

"That is the chairman of the Magic Association, Tomitsuka Hisui, I
heard about it from Miyuki. I hope she recovers quickly."

Indignation appeared on the face of Tomitsuka after hearing what
Tatsuya said about the matter.

"However, this is the problem for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Chairman of the Magic Association. Complaining to me is not quite
right."

Tatsuya noticed the expression on Tomitsuka's face, but was not going
to treat him condescendingly.

"The way you are talking about it is wrong isn’t it?" Tomitsuka angrily
spoke in response to the insensible words of Tatsuya.

"Fighting a girl younger than yourself, is that not 'Wrong' too?"

Tomitsuka wavered because of Tatsuya’s remark.

For the first time since coming here, Tomitsuka noticed that Tatsuya’s
eyes were filled with cold anger.

"So, Tomitsuka. Are you saying that I have to be sacrificed to spare the
chairman of the Magic Association from worries?"

"What do you mean sacrifice!"

"Don’t you want to drive me to the USNA?"

"Drive to...?"

With a bitter voice, Tatsuya exceeded the expectations of Tomitsuka.

"I... I think that the project will really help magicians..."
"Tomitsuka. Don't you understand the real purpose behind Project
Dione?"

This time the voice of Tatsuya was slightly annoyed.

Not realizing why Tatsuya asked, Tomitsuka was confused, forgetting
his anger for the cold-blooded behaviour of Tatsuya.

"The real purpose...?"

"The real purpose of Project Dione is to expel magicians from Earth and
tie them to the asteroid belt and the orbits of Jupiter and Venus."

"...What?"

"Magicians will be placed on the satellite orbits around Venus and
Jupiter, and for the most part this concerns the magicians of the USNA,
the New Soviet Union and Britain. If I also participated in Project
Dione, it would be at least 10 years before I could return from Jupiter's
orbit. It's like a lifelong sentence."

The sarcastic hint from Tatsuya that he is not "expelled to the island",
but "expelled to space*", was not understood by Tomitsuka.

[The Japanese expression means "expelled to space" literally spells "expelled to land".
The author in the second case has changed "island" to "space".]

"If it is like that... Shiba-kun, are you exaggerating...?"

"I am not going to force you to accept the truth of what I have said.
Read the published materials again. Let's continue this conversation
after that." Tatsuya said this and then turned his back to Tomitsuka.
There was no voice coming from his back, that asked him to stop.

Even if Tomitsuka thought Project Dione would be successful, if he
approached Tatsuya again, Tatsuya was not going to agree with his
beliefs.

(I won't take part in Project Dione.)

(I will not go into space, leaving Miyuki on the ground.)

(I’m not going anywhere, leaving Miyuki behind.)

No one can change these principles. Tatsuya was just stalling for some
extra time. But his desire for Tomitsuka to learn about the hidden malice
behind Project Dione was not a lie on his part.

Tomitsuka, overwhelmed by looking at Tatsuya’s retreating figure, kept
standing there, until Tatsuya was out of his sight.

"...What does this mean?" Muttered Tomitsuka, when he came to
himself after feeling the sensation of falling rain drops.

"It’s true goal? Sentenced to space? Huh, that's just a conspiracy
theory." He mocked Tatsuya aloud. But no matter how much he denied
it, the words of Tatsuya settled deep in his mind.

The rain had gotten more intense.

Tomitsuka wasn’t annoyed that he got wet because of the rain, or maybe
he did not notice it. He continued to stand still on the roof.

"I haven't heard anything like it. Nobody said anything like that."

None of his entourage really talked about this. The TV program, which
he watched, also did not arouse such an opinion. There was nothing like
that.

No matter how much information is readily available, there is a limit to
how much information one person can obtain by themselves.

"A true goal you say? You're exaggerating. Being expelled to space is
not something public opinion will allow."

Nevertheless, even the so-called "own thinking" of a person is not
created just by themselves. It was formed under the influence of the
information received from Tatsuya.

Tatsuya and Tomitsuka have had different experiences, pieces of
information and accumulated reflections. They were not superior to each
other, they just had completely different natures. For Tomitsuka it was
very difficult to perceive the conclusions that were voiced by Tatsuya.
Probably because Tomitsuka was more normal. Most people are likely
to have shared this disagreement with him.

◊◊◊

After an unsuccessful attack on the Izu Plateau, Edward Clark tried
many times to call Igor, but he was unable to reach him.

"You never managed to contact Dr. Igor?"

"Yes, Sir William."

Clark was now on the phone with McCloud in Britain. In Los Angeles,
where Clark was, it was midnight, in London, where McCloud was, it
was early morning. They did not know where Igor was. He could be in
Moscow, or in the Far East, so he did not know the correct time to call
him.

"Unfortunately, Dr. Igor seems to refuse to contact us."

"There is nothing to be done... The doctor belongs to the east, they are
hostile to us. We live with him on the same planet, but in different
worlds. He decided to do everything his own way and, from the very
beginning, he was unable to be controlled."

"If that’s so, does it mean that Igor is plotting another attack?"
Clark's address changed from 'Dr. Igor' to simply 'Igor'.

"I think so. He will strive to get rid of the magic that converts mass
into energy."

"If only he had waited a little..."

Clark unwittingly ruffled his hair.

"Sir William... Is there a chance that he could succeed?"

"I think there is hope. But it's about 50-50. Last time it seemed that we
had cornered him, but we don't know Shiba Tatsuya's real abilities."

"Do you want to say that everything depends on the magic power of
Shiba Tatsuya? ...Really, you're right."

McCloud’s guess sounded quite unreliable, but Clark could do nothing
but agree.

"Dr. Clark. Even with your 'Hliðskjálf', you do not know the real
abilities of Shiba Tatsuya?"

"...Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. It seems that the nickname
'Untouchables' is not just for show."

"Untouchables" was the nickname give to the Yotsuba family. Before
Tatsuya even came up, for reasons unrelated to him, Clark had already
targeted the Yotsuba family as an enemy that should disappear at all
costs. In truth, the Hliðskjálf terminal was handed over to Maya so that
Clark could collect information about the Yotsuba family.

However, the Head of the Yotsuba family did not do what Clark
expected. From just the history of the terminal used by Yotsuba Maya, it
was difficult for Clark to grasp any details about the real abilities of both
Shiba Tatsuya and the magicians that belong to the side branches of the
family.

"Got it..."

McCloud released a sigh of disappointment. He did not intend to insult
him with these words, but Clark's pride was seriously affected.

"Thus, we can only pray that next attack of Dr. Igor is going to be
successful... Dr. Clark, I apologize for the conversation at this late time."

"No, I called you. Sorry for it to be so early in the morning."

"It's a normal time for me to wake up. Then, Doctor, Good night."

"Yes, Sir William. And you have a good day."

The connection with McCloud was interrupted.
At the end, McCloud said the usual "Good night".

But Clark wasn’t going to go to sleep just yet.

Chapter 5

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there were no special movements
either within the country or abroad. There seemed to be a break in the
confrontation between Tatsuya and Edward Clark. But at the same time,
Raymond’s conspiracy was progressing behind their backs.

Saturday, June 15, a suburb of the United States of North America,
Dallas, Texas.

The National Particle Accelerator Laboratory was located here,
equipped with a long linear particle accelerator with a total length of
about 30 kilometers.

From the very morning, this accelerator was preparing to conduct a
secret experiment.

The essence of the experiment was to create and evaporate micro black
holes, based on the Extra-Dimensional Theory. Last time the same
experiment was conducted in December, 2095 but the goal at the time
was to get clues about the magic that converts mass into energy.

But this time the goal was not to observe the energy generated by the
evaporation of micro black holes. Even the successful creation of a
micro black hole was not required. Today's secret experiment was to
draw out the presumed agent that would enter the laboratory.

However, for scientists, the long-awaited permission to redo the
experiment was a valuable opportunity. They were burning with
enthusiasm, because they did not want to waste this opportunity.

To deal with the agent, neither the Intelligence Staff nor the Counter-
terrorism Unit were involved. It was the Magician Unit STARS under
the command of the General Staff Office.

If there really is an agent, they were considered to have high magic
skill. This is also the reason STARS is involved, other units aren't
involved, since the strategy was strongly proposed by STARS in the
first place.

"Jacob, is there any unusual activity?"

"Nothing unusual, Commander. There is no one that looks like a secret
agent at the moment."

The Commander of the Third Squad of the STARS, Captain Alexander
Arcturus, was present in the security room, from where it was possible
to observe all the premises of the laboratory. The individual he is
communicating with is First-Class, First-Lieutenant Jacob Regulus of
the Third Squad*.

[previously referred to as "Regulus".]

Regulus was in the accelerator control room, and watched the
neighborhood to detect the agent when he showed suspicious activity.

"Understood. Keep watching."

"Yes, sir."

"Commander."

When Arcturus broke off the walkie-talkie, a member of the
Constellation Class spoke to him. The STARS are divided into classes in
descending order: class of the first magnitude, class of the second
magnitude, class of constellations, class of planets and class of satellites.
This hierarchy was separate from the army’s ranks, and it often
happened that a junior officer from the constellation class was under the
command of a senior officer from the class of planets.

"What is it?" Arcturus briefly asked his subordinate and continued.

"Is there any evidence that Japan was involved in this case of First
Lieutenant Fomalhaut? I can't believe the Japanese agent could still be
active since that time."

Such doubts increased because of the delay that arose at this stage of the
operation because there were no signs of an agent appearing.

The members of the Constellation class have been guarding the National
Particle Accelerator Laboratory for some time now. They have been
there in the days before the actual experiment. To be specific, they’ve
been there since last Sunday. And now it is almost time to start the
experiment, and they have not seen any hint of the enemy, so, of course,
they will become skeptical about it.

Last year, the Japanese army, using parasites, managed to create
weapons in the form of autonomous humanoids.

To avoid the morale of his subordinates from dropping, Arcturus

To avoid the morale of his subordinates from dropping, Arcturus decided
to reveal some information to them with a relatively low level of secrecy.

Is it a stand-alone weapon that uses parasites?

"After this, one can only think that all this was prepared in advance.
Though the basis for the claim isn’t sound, it is probable that the
Japanese army was involved in the case surrounding First Lieutenant
Fomalhaut."

However there is a misunderstanding behind his reasoning. Initially,
these autonomous weapons, using Parasite Doll puppets were a modified
concept of the use of a Shikigami* technique.

[The magic of manipulating objects under which they behave as if they "came to life".]

But shikigami and artificial spirits could only move the physical body,
and did not demonstrate any magical abilities. In addition, they could not
seize control of the physical body controlled using the electronic brain.
For this reason, their actual use was not realized until they got a parasite
of their own.

In other words, if you want to correctly use a parasite as a weapon when
its one step away from completion, at first a parasite doll is required for
development.

Not only this, but all the "justifications" provided by Regulus that he had
transferred to Arcturus and Base Commander Walker, were
supplemented by "circumstances" that were distorted with superficial
facts. And they firmly believed that "The Japanese agent will definitely
participate" in the repeated experiment with the Micro Black Holes.

"I’m here... Excuse me!"

This member of the constellation class also had no doubt in these
distorted justifications.

Meanwhile, no suspicious person had yet to enter the laboratory. No, to
be more precise, they were not "not detected", but they simply were not
considered "suspicious".

And it was quite natural. Because this suspicious person had a badge
issued by the National Research Agency.

Raymond Clark, who, using his father's connections, received a pass not
as a mere guest, but as a temporary worker, watched the majestic view
of the particle accelerator from the roof of the office building of the
laboratory.

Raymond was the one who invented the non-existent Japanese agent's
involvement to make today's experiment happen. To create a military
force for the confrontation against Tatsuya, he decided to once again
create parasites. For this he used Regulus’ thirst for revenge.

Regulus, who disagreed with the fact that his friend Fomalhaut was
ruthlessly executed, was a perfect way to set all of this up by using his
anger. And by just using some "hints", Regulus acted exactly as
expected by Raymond.

Regulus and Arcturus, as magicians, are far superior to him, but they are
taking part in this farce, and thus in the script that he wrote. Magicians
belonging to the elite group "STARS", whom he would never be able to
reach, played the comedic part on the stage he created. Raymond came
to see this show from the front row.

However, a serious element was definitely present to the comedy, which
will not make him laugh. Raymond came to make sure it was going to
happen.

He was not satisfied with the broadcast that was provided by Hliðskjálf,
he wanted to see everything directly. To satisfy his curiosity and the
feeling that he had achieved something.

All the real lab staff were busy experimenting, because they thought
they would not be given another chance for this. There was no one who
would rebuke Raymond for only standing on the roof, leaning over the
handrails.

11:00. The planned time for the experiment.

In the experiment itself, the STARS did not participate. Regulus, located
in the accelerator control room, could not intervene either.

From the very beginning, Regulus was not going to interfere. He was
not interested, whether the experiment would end with success or
failure.

His mind was busy thinking about who could have lured Fomalhaut into
this trap.

And he was not just thinking of the agent who pushed the experiment
that caused the parasites to appear. By grasping the agent, you will be
able to find out which organization he works and destroy it. He sincerely
believed this.

While Regulus was watching to see if someone who was behaving
suspiciously was in charge of the experiment, the scientist gave the
command to launch the particle accelerator.

The linear particle accelerator began its work, absorbing a huge amount
of electricity.

A proton beam is injected into both ends of the accelerator and is
accelerated until they collide with one another.

The experiment ended in an instant. They could repeat the procedure
until the required data was received, but only the first test run was
performed, and the second run was not.

No, there were no problems with the accelerator. Just that the
experiment went successful after the first attempt.

Immediately after hearing a voice indicating the start of the experiment,
Regulus, who was sitting in the accelerator control room, got his field of
vision filled with darkness.

For a moment he thought that the electricity went out. But this suspicion
lasted only a moment. The next moment Regulus felt a strong pain and
an oppressive feeling.

"Something" was invading "him". Something tried to penetrate itself
into him. But not physically. He intuitively realized that it was not an
invasion of the physical body. However, this pain was completely
different from Mental Interference attacks that he had in training.

If Regulus was an experienced woman, he would surely compare this to
the pain of defloration. But he was a man. He could not imagine what he
could compare this excruciating pain to.

Trying to avoid not only pain, but also other bad feelings, as something
from the outside was trying to get inside of him, Regulus with all his
power tried to repel this "something". Regulus does not have any
aptitude for Mental-Interference Magic, and he did not know how to
control his body when his mind was being used to manipulate his limbs.
Instead, he tried to use a special type of Psion control, that opposed
Mental Interference Magic, Non-Systematic magic, and afterwards used
Release-Type magic to shoot an electrical shock into himself.

However, neither the spell against Mental-Interference Magic nor the
Non-Systematic magic had any effect on the invader. And the electricity
that was meant for suicide was never even released

The invasion continued.

It felt as if the invading "something" had no will of its own. This
"something" is trying to merge with him.

Suddenly, "intrusion" became "assimilation". The pain was gone. The
oppressive feeling weakened.

"...Is this a parasite!?"

Suddenly, fear erupted in him. Regulus screamed with all his strength.
However it was like the last light of a fading candle.

Suddenly it became quiet. Fear and anger about the fictional agent
plunged into the bottom of his consciousness, and his mind became
tranquil.

("...My name is Jacob Regulus.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.")

So Regulus became a "parasite".

Arcturus, in the security room, immediately after the experiment, clearly
felt something trying to penetrate his mind.

"A spirit...?"

He did not feel pain and oppression like Regulus because he was a user
of magical spirits. Arcturus was a specialist in Movement-Type Magic
and could also perfectly summon spirits using Ancient magic.

This Ancient Magic used the spirits inside him so that he could use their
power. Perhaps modern people have the impression that this magic
allows you to become a demon to use their power.

Arcturus has long been accustomed to this feeling, when something lives
inside of him, penetrating him from the outside. He was not confused
when the "something" tried to invade him against his will. Because he
had the means to deal with what was invading his mind.

The miscalculation of Arcturus was that the invader, the parasite, did not
possess its own "Ego".

This "something" possessed another spiritual entity besides itself. But it
had no desires itself. So he could not distinguish it from himself.

Without any intention, it simply sought to get inside. As if water were
seeping through a dry cloth, it bit into his heart.

Arcturus’ heart became overcome with fear when he realized that the
spells known to him had no effect on the invader. He tried to summon a
spirit and expel the "something". However, the spirit did not answer
Arcturus’ call. The place "Inside" Arcturus was already occupied by this
invader.

Something from the outside once again got inside him.

He and the "something" from the outside merged.

Suddenly, "intrusion" became"assimilation".

Arcturus felt as if he had been filled by something. It was a sense of true
alignment that could not be achieved by just summoning spirits.

(...So this is the true fusion of man and spirit...)

It was his last thought as the pure Arcturus.

("...My name is Alexander Arcturus.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.")

So Arcturus became a "parasite".

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

On the roof of the lab office building, Raymond writhed in pain.

"It hurts so much."

He persistently complained about the pain aloud.
It was an acute pain, as if something from the outside invaded his mind.

For Raymond, who had never been trained to resist Mental-Interference
Magic, it was an unbearable pain. He noticed only the pain, not the
oppressive feelings from the pressure of this "something".

However, Raymond's strong ego resolutely rejected the intruding
essence in his mind from the outside.

Intense pain was the result of intense resistance. And he couldn't stop it
because he didn't even know he was resisting.

"It hurts so so much..."

This incessant pain destroyed his mind.
Raymond was fortunate that his ego had loosened its resistance.

The resistance of the ego decreased, so the speed of the invasion
increased.

Raymond lost his strength and he could no longer writhe in pain and
scream the word "hurt", he just lay still on the floor of the roof.

Raymond looked like a corpse, he had no more desires.

The invasion was fast.
The assimilation went quickly.

"Something" penetrated Raymond and because he stopped resisting, his
desires were pulled on from within.

This "Something" took the shape of Raymond's intentions.

Without any abilities, Raymond could not be the main protagonist. But
in fact he really wanted to be the main character.

Raymond wanted to play an active role in something romantic, like a
heroic saga.

To conquer space with magic. He thought that this was pretty romantic.
And Shiba Tatsuya, who denies Raymond's saga, was a hindrance to
him.

It was impossible for him alone to force Shiba Tatsuya to surrender. For
him, even the power of "Sirius", the strongest magician of the STARS,
does not pose a threat. So he was looking for the power of parasites.

If the magicians from STARS assimilated with the parasites, they can
force Shiba Tatsuya to surrender.

...That's what Raymond thought.

For this purpose he prepared this "scene". To defeat Shiba Tatsuya with
the power of parasites...

("...That's Raymond’s/our wish.")
("...Raymond/We wish to defeat Shiba Tatsuya.")

("...My name is Raymond Clark.")

("...I/we are called 'parasites' by the people of this world.")
("...Raymond/We will make Shiba Tatsuya surrender.")

So inside Raymond, this distorted desire became an oath.
The parasites were once again summoned to this world.

Not only these three assimilated with the parasites. Team Orion that
consists of three people, who were patrolling the building outside, were
also captured by the parasites.

After completing the experiment, 5 people, besides Raymond, returned
to the STARS base in New Mexico, and none of the people around them
noticed anything.

Raymond returned to his home in California with a carefree face.

◊◊◊

Sunday, June 16th.

Kudou Minoru again came to the warehouse where the Parasite
Dolls were stored

It was still an early time, the streets were dark and quiet. No one in
his family knew he was here. His father, brothers and servants must
think that Minoru is sleeping in his room.

No one rebuked him at home for the other day when he went to
Tokyo to visit Minami, skipping school. Only his grandfather Kudou
Retsu was concerned and asked Minoru about the circumstances, but
after hearing the explanation, he could only briefly answer with a
short "Understood".

Except for his grandfather, he was not interesting to anyone, neither to
his father, nor to his brothers. This is what Minoru thought when he saw
their reactions.

As he thought, even less attention was paid to him the next day. Perhaps
they mistakenly decided that despair had awoken in Minoru. Or,
thinking that he could die at any moment, decided to let him do what he
wanted.

Minoru was grateful for this erroneous judgment. Now he regretted the
time he spent on unnecessary communication with his family and the
maid.

He wanted to cure Minami. Minoru’s line of thinking was completely
overwhelmed by this idea.

Minoru did not understand why he is trying so hard. No, maybe he
actually knew, but he tried not to realize it. Perhaps it was a kind of
obsession, as if he were motivated by frivolous feelings, such as love at
first sight, or rather love in 3 days.

Unlike the last time, he opened the door with magic and entered the
warehouse. This magic was the result of the practical use of "Electron
Golden Silkworm", which he discovered in the knowledge of Zhou
Gongjin. This magic was used by Chen Xiangshan to infiltrate the
Kanto branch of the Magic Association. However, this version of the
magic was more advanced than the one Chen used, so this one did not
turn on the alarm.

Cool dry air enveloped Minoru’s body. Like last time, there was no
atmosphere of mystery.

"After all, nothing else remains..." Minoru unwittingly said this to
himself.

There was no answer to that from the inside. Because these words were
not facts but just words used to strengthen his determination.

Minoru went to the "coffin" located in the depths of the warehouse.

The corpse of an Eastern man was kept in a frozen state.

It was part of the group of parasites sealed by Tatsuya and Mikihiko in
the artificial forest of First High in the winter of last year.

It wasn't some coma or lethargy, it was a real dead corpse. To keep the
parasite inside, various symbols and drawings were carved on the
corpse's skin.

This corpse provided the parasites in the parasite dolls.

By weakening the seal so that the parasite could be partially free, they
sought to ensure that the parasite trapped in the corpse would send a
copy and create a new identity.

This copy is then locked in another doll or corpse, and the original
corpse is sealed again.

This way, the former ninth laboratory, now known as the Ninth
Laboratory for the development of magic, produced parasite dolls.

Even now that the production of parasites is frozen, the subordinate
families of the Kudou continued to update this carved spell every 12
hours.

The update time is 6 AM and PM respectively. The current time is 4:00.
It was a time when the effectiveness of the spell began to weaken.

Minoru pressed the switch on the wall of the coffin. The lid of the coffin
was automatically opened.

The corpse was dressed in white clothes. For Minoru it was like an
invitation. He didn't want to see a disgusting naked male body there,
which was also dead.

Minoru put the right palm on the chest of the frozen corpse, which was
rock solid. A heartbeat, of course, was not felt.

Through his palm, Minoru sent Psions to the frozen corpse. Pushion
waves could be felt after a few seconds. The inactive parasite in the
corpse woke up.

Minoru swallowed deeply and his breathing became ragged. He
clenched his teeth and lips, and held his breath.

Having overcome his hesitation, Minoru abolished the spell used for the
seal, that was placed on the corpse.

The next moment, "slime" made out of light came out of the body.

This was the only way to describe this spectacle seen by Minoru. A
glowing, muddy light formed an intangible shapeless creature. In terms
of size, it is better to call it "mucus" rather than "slime".

The "Slime" tried to attack Minoru. Minoru didn't try to avoid it. On the
contrary, he moved his hands to the side, as if showing that he was
inviting this slime, this parasite, into his body.

On the summer sweater worn by Minoru, symbols and geometric figures
appeared in the center of his chest.

The sweater is imbued with magical properties, that was made by
Minoru himself.

The parasite flew into the sweater, as if it were sucked in.
A voice of agony burst out of Minoru’s mouth.

Because of the feeling of being invaded, Minoru made a twisted face
and he sat down on the floor of the warehouse.

He sat down, crossed his legs, throwing his left foot on his right thigh.
The so-called Lotus position.

Keeping this posture while baring the pain, Minoru activated cooling
magic.

He lowered his body temperature just enough to create a death-like state.

The target of this magic was himself.

Having brought his body to a state close to death, Minoru directed his
consciousness inside himself.

His near death condition was needed to suppress the potential rejection
of the parasite. Continuing to stay conscious, he tried not to miss this
initiative.

At the same time as the parasite invaded him, ravaging his mind, Minoru
was trying to rule over the parasite.

He wasn't going to give the parasite a single drop of his desires. He was
going to get the power of the parasite by only using his will.

(I won't lose a creature that doesn't even have an ego!)

Being extra careful to not destroy the parasite, he used a spell enslaving
the parasite inside himself.